Ancient Pleasures
by Sanssong
Summary: John and Teyla find their way to a new part of the city to find it offers much more than they expected.


Title: Ancient Pleasures

Author: Suzanne Tegart

Date 09/16/04

Rating: R (for some sexual content)

Genre: Romance

Pairing: John/Teyla

Characters: Weir, Ford, McKay, Beckett, Sheppard, Teyla

Spoilers: Season One, up through "Poisoning the Well".

Warnings: None

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the concept of Stargate Atlantis. I don't make any money from writing these silly stories. I amuse myself and no one else in the hope that someone will e-mail me feedback! ;-)

Summary:

John and Teyla find their way to a new part of the city to find it offers much more than they expected.

Special thanks to Debbie for the kind beta!

Ancient Pleasures

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John Sheppard knew there was somewhere else he was supposed to be, but he couldn't for the life of him remember where. He just felt too damn good to worry about anything at the moment. It was nice here, John thought looking around him at the large, tastefully decorated room. Quiet, peaceful, he didn't have to worry about anything. It was a bit lonely though. He'd thought he wanted to be alone when he got here, but now he was craving company- female company.

John's mind immediately conjured up an image of Teyla. This place he'd found would be perfect if Teyla were here with him. In fact would be beyond perfect it would be bliss.

But wait, no, that wasn't right; he wasn't supposed to feel good or bliss or even peaceful. In fact he was supposed to feel downright rotten. That's the reason he'd found his way to this spot in the first place. He'd just started walking because he couldn't stand the sound of his own thoughts anymore. He'd wanted relief, an escape. That's what John had been thinking when he stumbled into an area of Atlantis he'd never been before.

That was four hours ago.

"What is this place?" Someone asked from the other side of the room.

Sheppard turned in the direction of the voice to see who'd had the nerve to interrupt him, when all he'd wanted was some time alone- ish. But when he got a good look at whom it was doing the interrupting, his irritation quickly faded.

It was Teyla; sultry, sexy, beautiful, woman of his dreams. Teyla. She was standing in the doorway of wherever this was looking too incredible to be real. Was it getting warmer in here?

Now this was cool. John had no sooner thought of her than the next thing he knew she was standing right in front of him. What a great place.

After taking in the whole visual 'Teyla body tour' from the top of her gorgeous head to the tip of her feet, it registered to John's intoxicated brain that she wasn't wearing her standard uniform. He swallowed hard as he took in what she _was_ wearing.

Soft skin-tight brown leather pants and a rust colored top that didn't quite reach her belly button. It was just fitted enough for him to want to see more and her hair was different too; half of it was pulled away from her face, emphasizing her almond shaped eyes and high cheekbones and the rest flowed freely down her back. She was making all of the blood in his body travel south, leaving him light-headed and hard.

"Uhm...Teyla?" John finally managed.

"Yes", she answered, walking the rest of the way into the room. It occurred to her then that something was different about Major Sheppard. "John, are you unwell?"

John exerted every ounce of self-control he had over his body, trying desperately not to make a complete ass of himself like some teenage boy alone with his first girl. "Ill? Me? Nope, not me, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You looked very strange for a moment, that's all." Thinking she must be imaging things Teyla let it go. "So, what is this place?" She asked again.

Sheppard looked sheepishly embarrassed. "Uh, it's a bar. I think." he answered.

"A 'bar'?" She said hesitantly back to him, clearly confused by the term.

God she was beautiful when she was confused! 'No, John, normal conversation.' he said to himself.

"Yeah, a bar. You know a place where people go to have a drink or two... or maybe four... I lost count." When she still didn't seem to understand his meaning, he searched his alcohol soaked brain for something she could relate to. It wasn't easy.

"Do your people ferment fruit, or grains using the liquid from it as an intoxicant?"

That seemed to do the trick because she nodded her head in understanding. "Oh, you mean alcohol. Yes, we ferment together several grains to make 'leaven'; a gold colored alcohol that can make you quite intoxicated." Teyla said smiling. "However, we don't have to go to a 'bar' to get leaven, my people each make their own. In fact there has always been great debate over who makes the best leaven."

"Really?" John said, smiling invitingly back at her. That sexy rakish smile of his was causing a reaction in Teyla that she had been trying to contain since she felt compelled to go looking for him.

It was a strange thing. She had been reading in her quarters after dinner when she had an overwhelming desire to see John Sheppard. She wanted to be with him, touch him, spend time with him, woman to man. Teyla had been attracted to him since the moment he'd come to her village several months ago, but she wasn't sure how he viewed her, and her main concern had always been her people, so she hadn't pursued it. In her quiet moments though, his face would swim to the surface of her thoughts and she would wonder- what if?

This was different. This felt urgent, like he needed her, was calling to her and she desperately wanted to answer that call. So she changed her clothes and went looking for him.

Three or four times she told herself that this was stupid and she should just go back to her quarters, but she couldn't make her feet turn around. In fact they seemed to know exactly where they were going- almost like she'd been this way before. She hadn't of course; she'd never been in this part of the city at all. Nonetheless she'd found her way to John in a matter of minutes. 

Now, standing before him, the need she felt for him was growing more urgent by the moment.

"Well, I think that the Ancients must have subscribed to the 'bar' concept because there is way more liquor in this place than any one person could drink. Besides, it's big enough for lots of people." John tried to gesture towards the open room with his right hand, but lost his balance in the process and nearly fell off of the stool he was sitting on.

Teyla quickly moved to grab his arm and help him steady himself on the seat. That brief moment of contact was enough to send shivers of arousal through both of them and neither of them seemed to know what to do. Teyla eventually let go of his arm, but stayed next to him. John just stared into her eyes, speechless.

It was Teyla who looked away first, in an effort to get herself back under control. 'Say something, Teyla, anything!' she said to herself. "So, how did you find it?" She finally asked.

"What?" John blinked several times trying to process her question. "How did I? Oh, the bar." As if by its own will, his hand reached out for hers and when she didn't flinch or try to pull back, he laced his fingers through hers. "I, uh..." his thumb gently rubbed the inside of her palm. "I wanted to get away. I was thinking about too much, too many things going through my mind." He shook his head in an effort to clear it. It didn't help.

Teyla was drowning. His hand on hers was just as intoxicating as any of the finest leaven and she never wanted him to stop. "What kind of things? Are you troubled about something" She managed to ask. Taking a small step closer to him, she caressed his jaw with her free hand.

Concern and desire made a potent mix and he could read both in her eyes. Even so, he was trying to hold back, trying to keep from going to fast and scaring her away. They'd never been physical and he didn't know how she would react. However, not touching her was not an option at this point, so he moved his free hand up to rest on the narrow spot between her hip and waist.

'What kind of things?'- she'd asked him.

Okay, think John.

He'd been very agitated when he started out, why? What had driven him here? It was just on the tip of his tongue, buried just below the surface of his mind where he couldn't get to it. Something about this place was making him forget. He knew it was more than the booze, hell, he'd been drunk plenty of times and never once did he completely forget why he was there.

'Think damnit! Think, so you don't throw her on the nearest couch over there like an animal and make love to her.'

He'd been upset; he needed to get away, so he walked. He was thinking about all the missions he'd been on since coming to Atlantis, the last one especially.

That was it.

It all came back in a rush; millions of people were dead and millions more in danger because his team had come to Atlantis and walked through the Stargate.

"Oh, God, it's our fault- it's my fault." John let go of Teyla's hand, slid off the stool, walking away from her. He had no right to touch her after what he'd done.

Feeling bereft and confused, Teyla followed him wanting to re-establish the heady connection they'd been sharing. Placing her hand on his shoulder she gently turned him around to look at her. "What's your fault, John? "Tell me, let me help you."

"You want to help me, after what we did to your people?" he said in an anguished voice.

"What do you mean? Is there something you haven't told me?" she searched his face, looking for any trace of guile. She saw none.

"Teyla, we woke the Wraith, destroyed your village, and took you away from your home! Isn't that enough?"

"No... I mean yes you did wake the Wraith, but no, you know it wasn't like that!" She tried to reason with him, but John kept talking, everything spilling out in a great rush.

"Then there's the Hoffans. The people most determined to get themselves killed by the Wraith- with our help." Self-deprecating sarcasm laced his voice. "My team was responsible for the death of millions- maybe even the extinction of the entire Hoffan race! We should have never helped them with that research."

Compassion and admiration welled up within Teyla at his words. He really was such an honorable man.

"John, listen to me." she said tenderly. John tried to look away, but she caught his chin and made him look at her.

"I don't blame you for waking the Wraith, nor do my people. They would have awoken eventually. You and your team gave my people a way out, a way to fight the Wraith that we'd never had before."

"As for our home," she continued, "we have a better one now, far away from the threat of a Wraith culling. You helped save my people John. I will always be grateful to you for that."

He saw the truth of what she said in her eyes. She really didn't blame him. He placed his hand over hers, pressing his cheek into her palm.

"As for the Hoffans, you can't hold yourself responsible for their decision. They made their own choices and were convinced they were right. They've taken a big risk, sacrificing some now, so that eventually all Hoffans can live free. But it was _their_ risk, _their_ sacrifice you couldn't have stopped them. We gave them knowledge, what they chose to do with that knowledge was their prerogative." She finished, looking into his eyes, willing him to believe her and accept her argument. She could tell he wanted to, but he still had the look of a tortured soul.

"But what about all those people? Don't their lives matter in...?" He didn't get to finish the thought because the feeling of Teyla's lips on his rendered him incapable of doing anything but kissing her back. It was her way of saying 'you are not responsible' and he finally got it.

In fact, as she opened her mouth and tangled her tongue with his, he began to wonder if he hadn't been overreacting to begin with. One by one John let go of every worry and recrimination until there was nothing left but her.

He felt Teyla's approval, her respect, her desire. It was as if he could sense her thoughts and they were sharing a deep unspoken communication, he'd never experienced anything like it before, but it was wonderful.

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The search for Major Sheppard had now taken on a new more serious dimension. Teyla Emmagan was also missing and had been for at least as long as Major Sheppard. There were now two security teams looking for the Major and Teyla just in case they weren't together and they were by some chance dealing with two separate incidents.

Dr. Weir was tired, it was well past midnight and she'd been up since before the Atlantian dawn. Chances were at this point that her people were injured or captured by an unknown, and until she had a better idea of what that was, she couldn't go to bed.

"Still no word, Doctor. I'm sorry." Lt. Ford reported. "It's like they just vanished into thin air."

"What about the ocean? Do we have anyone checking to see if maybe they- fell overboard? I know it's a long shot, but at this point we need to investigate all possibilities."

"Yes, ma'am, as a matter of fact, I just sent team two to search all ocean access points." Ford replied. "My team is going to move on to some of the uninhabited parts of the city. I'll check back with you in an hour."

"Thank you Lieutenant." Weir said wearily. As Ford was leaving Elizabeth caught the eye of Dr. Beckett who was at that moment arriving with McKay. He knew what she was asking, but he shook his head indicating that they'd not found them.

"We've been in the control room monitoring for bio-signs or any other indication that they are still in Atlantis, but we've nothin' so far." Carson Beckett said apologetically.

"You know, the two of them could be together and not want to be found." McKay said adding his two cents to the conversation. "I've noticed something between the two of them for weeks now, maybe they just wanted some time alone."

Dr. Weir turned angrily to McKay, "Major Sheppard would never act in such an irresponsible manner. How can you even suggest that either he or Teyla would do something so careless and unnecessarily upset so many people?"

"Sorry Doctor, you may think the man's a saint, but I've seen the way he looks at her. It's entirely possible given the stress we've all been under that he- and she- would find a way to relieve it and not give a thought to the consequences. I know I would." McKay said, smiling rudely.

"Rodney, I think it's time we were back in the control room, maybe it will show somethin' new." Carson said hopefully.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will." Rodney sniped sarcastically.

"Thank you Dr. Beckett, let me know if anything shows up." Weir sat down in the nearest chair and hoped she'd be able to keep from killing McKay the next time she saw him.

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Warm sensual liquid fire slowly flooded her veins as Teyla continued kissing John. His lips on hers were quite possibly the most incredible thing she had ever felt. More, she had to have more. She hadn't kissed all that many men, but she knew instinctively that there was more here than the physical. Not only did his kisses and physicality surpass any man she'd ever known, she could sense John's overwhelming desire for her and that was the most compelling thing of all.

Their lips met and retreated, only to meet again with more intensity over and over. Tongues tangled in a sweet agony of haste to know all there was to know of each other. Why had they waited so long to do this, she wondered somewhere in the back part of her brain that was still functioning.

John had never been so aroused in his life. Teyla was heating his body nearly to the point of pain. He thought he'd been intoxicated before she showed up, but that was nothing compared to this. Bliss. That's what it was; it was bliss to be finally acting on the attraction that had simmered between them since the moment they met on her home world.

He knew his legs were going to give out on him any moment so he started to move in the direction he remembered seeing a couch. It was grouped with several other chairs and a smaller loveseat-looking piece over by the big bay windows. The first move he made parted their lips and John heard Teyla whimper in protest. He touched her face in reassurance, but somehow he knew that she knew he wasn't leaving.

"The couch – over there..." was all he managed to say, motioning with his head at the same time. She nodded her head in understanding and they moved quickly across the room falling into the cushions and back into each other.

"Are you sure... this is...what you want, John?" Teyla whispered against his lips.

"Are you kidding, I've never wanted anyone this much." His ardent kiss attesting to his honesty. "But I should probably be the one asking you," he breathed out when he was able to speak again.

"What?" Puzzled, Teyla's passion drugged mind had already forgotten the question.

John cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes."

John didn't wait to hear anymore of her answer. The dam of longing that had built up inside him exploded and he pulled her under him crushing her lips with his.

Their clothing was shed in a matter of minutes in their desire to touch each other skin to skin. The last thing John remembered before he sank into Teyla was how amazing it was to know it felt just as incredible to her. Somehow, they were not only connected in body, but in mind as well. Intoxicating.

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Teyla was trying to get dressed sitting on the edge of the couch, but John kept interrupting her, kissing her on the back of the neck and ears. She shivered in pleasure with every touch of his lips.

"John," she said laughing, "we have to go! I must sleep for at least a few hours before daybreak!"

His answer was to continue kissing her neck moving from the back to the front and eventually making his way up to her lips. His kiss was slow and sensual; the urgency from the earlier coupling had faded to a quiet exploration. She couldn't help but respond to him and was soon returning his kiss.

"John." she whispered. "As much as I would love to stay here and share your body again, we must go." John knew she was right and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

"Ah, Teyla, I can't seem to get enough..." he groaned and was silent for a hand full of minutes.

"But you're right, we'll have to save the rest of this for later." Slowly he removed his hand and helped her adjust the rest of her clothes.

A dozen kisses and false starts later, they were both dressed and on their feet.

"Tonight?" He asked, fairly sure of her answer.

"I'll think about," she teased.

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Teyla and Major Sheppard had almost gotten back to the central part of the city when they came upon Lt. Ford's search team. The pleasurable haze of the last few hours evaporated rapidly in light of what looked to them like a serious situation.

"Major Sheppard! Teyla! Are you all right?"

"Ah, yeah Lieutenant, why wouldn't we be?" Sheppard asked carefully. "What's going on here, Ford?"

"We've been looking for you- both of you- for over eight hours, sir. We tried to contact you at around eighteen hundred but you didn't respond. When we scanned the city for your bio signs it showed nothing. We thought you'd either been taken or were maybe... dead."

"Well as you can see we're fine and trust me, we never left the city."

"You said you tried to contact us using the communications system?" Teyla asked.

"Yes, every fifteen minutes since we realized you were missing."

"I never heard anything."

"Nor did I." Teyla agreed.

"What in the hell's going on here?" John asked more to himself than Ford.

"Excuse me, sir, I promised Dr. Weir I'd contact her the moment I found anything." Sheppard nodded and Ford pressed the button activating his headset.

"Dr. Weir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, do you have something?" Weir's voice crackled over the walkie.

"I've found them ma'am, or rather, they found me. And they appear to be fine. We're on our way back now."

"Good work, Mr. Ford, tell Major Sheppard this had better be good. Weir out."

Ford turned to relay the message to John, but he held up a hand. "I heard Lieutenant, thanks. Let's go."

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The next morning John, Teyla, Dr. Weir, and Dr. Beckett sat at the table in the briefing room. Surprisingly enough neither John nor Teyla felt any ill effects from their late night activities. In fact they both felt incredible.

"I'm telling you Elizabeth, I never heard your call. You know me I wouldn't just ignore it."

"Fine, I believe you. But there's a reason why neither of you heard our com's and why you didn't show up on any bio-scan of the city. I want to know what it is." Dr. Weir turned to Carson Beckett. "Doctor, what did your tests come up with?"

"Other than elevated endorphin levels in both Major Sheppard and Teyla, I couldn't find anythin' wrong or out of the ordinary."

"Could these elevated endorphins have kept them from showing up on our bio-scans?

"I don't see how." Carson answered thoughtfully.

"Any idea what caused their endorphin levels to be up in the first place?" Weir asked.

"Uh," Carson hesitated, glancing briefly at John who silently warned him not to say very much. "I'm still workin' on that, Dr. Weir."

Elizabeth nodded and was about to some final instructions to adjourn their meeting when McKay interrupted, practically running into the briefing room.

"I was right! We couldn't find them, because they didn't want to be found!" Rodney gestured excitedly.

"Excuse me?" Weir queried.

"It's fascinating really, the place Major Sheppard wandered into was like an Ancients, 'Pleasure Central'. From what I can interpret from the database and the room itself, the Ancients went there to relax and be free of their problems for a while."

"Like I said, it's a bar." John quipped dryly.

"Not exactly major unless the bars you're familiar with automatically hide your life-signs and enhance sexual and telepathic abilities."

John exhaled a low whistle. "Well that explains a lot."

"Much of Ancient's technology is thought activated," McKay continued, "so when Major Sheppard was stressed-out and needed a place to get away from it all, this place was activated and literally drew him to it."

"But, why did I go there doctor? I was not under stress, nor do I have the Ancients DNA as Major Sheppard does." Teyla asked.

Rodney smirked and pulled out a chair to sit down.

"'Pleasure Central' enables telepathic communication, probably to enhance the sexual experience of whoever uses it. The good major had to be thinking about you for you to find your way there."

Teyla turned a dark shade of red and looked away embarrassed. John just cleared his throat and kept looking at the imaginary spot on the table.

"Okay, I think we all understand how Teyla and Major Sheppard got to this 'bar'," Dr. Weir refused to use McKay's vulgar appellation. "The real problem I see in all this is why couldn't they hear us paging them, and why didn't our scans of the city give their location."

"The room is shielded from the scanners and from communications, probably because the Ancients wanted to have a place they could go, at least for a while, that no one could reach them."

"What do you mean 'for a while'?" Sheppard asked, finally rejoining the discussion.

"Well, the best that I can tell, the shielding is only temporary lasting at the most 12 hours at a time. Which is a good thing, because if it's a much high to be in there as I think it is, you would never want to leave on your own."

"Well as usual Rodney, it's been an education."

"Why, thank you John. I'm just sorry I didn't get first hand knowledge, like you did."

"So, do we make this place off limits?" Dr. Beckett asked.

Weir steepled her fingers under her chin and thought for a moment. "No. I see no reason to make it completely off limits. However there will have to be some serious ground rules for anyone who uses it. None of us have the luxury of disappearing for twelve hours at a time." Elizabeth looked pointedly at Major Sheppard who had the good grace to be embarrassed.

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"Hey Teyla, wait up."

"Of course, major." Teyla turned to wait as John caught up with her.

"I uh... well, I...I...I just wanted to say that I would understand if you wanted to think about things for a while." John lowered his head, not wanting to see in her eyes that last night had been a mistake for her.

"I think..." she paused, "that I did exactly what I've wanted to do since I met you." John looked up sharply at her words. "John, I didn't have to come looking for you, but I did. Would you like to know why?"

"More than anything."

"Because I wanted to." She reached up and touched her lips briefly to his.

"I'll see you tonight," she whispered. John nodded his assent.

"Should I meet you to my quarters. I don't think we need any help making a connection."

End


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